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| MJCross | Cat’s Glasses | SFACG |
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I finished off my beef and potatoes first, stuffed myself full, and moved to a street corner out of Old Feng’s sight to wait for Xiao Lei.
It was obvious that Old Feng didn’t believe in Xiao Lei’s so-called “Church of Bishoujo”, but that didn’t matter.
From the start, we never expected a normal person to be convinced by just a few lines of cult-like rhetoric.
If anything, if someone did believe it right away, I’d have to seriously consider whether they were an idiot.
Tonight, all we needed was to plant a seed in Old Feng’s mind. Once the miracle happens later, he’ll have no choice but to believe.
At that moment, Xiao Lei finished off her stir-fried pork liver, then strutted back toward me with a ridiculous catwalk under Old Feng’s are-you-an-idiot? stare.
Seeing me, she proudly placed her hands on her hips, puffed out her little chest, and grinned smugly.
“So, Commander, how was it? Did I pass as a divine emissary or not?”
Clearly, she had zero self-awareness about how terrible and over-the-top her acting was. I didn’t hold back.
“I don’t know about ‘divine emissary,’ but you definitely looked like a lunatic.”
“Pfft!” She spat an imaginary mouthful of air at me.
“Forget that—tonight’s operation is gonna last until midnight. Better call your mom and ask for permission again.”
“Relax, I already took care of it this morning when I saw my grades.”
Xiao Lei waved an invisible fan, looking like a military strategist who had everything under control.
“She gave me permission to stay at your place for two more days. By then, my bruises should have faded.”
Hearing that, I couldn’t help but ask, “Wait, you told her about your grades, and she still let you stay over?”
“That’s because of you, Commander! I told her I needed Chang Kai to tutor me for the make-up exams, and she immediately agreed. Besides, her son is about to fall into the abyss of tutoring hell—why wouldn’t she let him enjoy a few more days of freedom?”
…So when exactly did Mama Zhao’s affection level for me shoot up? I could count the number of times I’d met her on one hand.
As we chatted, we reached the spot where we could see my house.
That’s when we spotted a luxury car—no, a supercar! A bright red supercar was slowly pulling up in front of the iron gate of my house.
By instinct, I grabbed Xiao Lei and ducked into the shadows around the corner.
I wasn’t exactly an expert on car models, but as a man, I had an innate sense for mechanical value. This sleek red Honda1 was definitely worth a fortune.
“T-This car must cost at least a million, right? Since when did your family know such a rich guy?”
Xiao Lei also recognized the car’s worth, unable to hide the shock on her face.
“I have no idea… Wait, could it be—?”
At that moment, the engine fully shut off.
The passenger-side door opened first, and out stepped my dad—dressed in a sharp suit, hair and shoes polished to a shine, carrying his laptop bag.
He stretched lazily, looking totally at ease.
“I knew it. So this is why Dad has been leaving work on time these past few days—he has a coworker giving him a ride home. But I never expected that coworker to be a super-rich big shot! But then… why the hell would a rich guy still work a regular office job?”
I will never understand the world of the wealthy.
“Seems like your dad’s home, I’m climbing onto the wall to get into your room then.”
“Mm, sorry for the trouble.”
Xiao Lei responded with a quick nod and sneaked off toward the back wall of my house.
Though she had climbed it once before, my room was on the second floor… Was it really that easy to climb? Why was she so skilled at this?
Meanwhile, the driver’s side door of the supercar finally opened.
A polished leather shoe stepped onto the ground.
I was curious to see what kind of big shot could afford such an extravagant ride yet still chose to work an office job.
The person who stepped out looked to be in their twenties, a bit on the small side.
Standing next to my dad, he was probably about 170 cm tall.
…Wow. Shorter than me.
But considering the national average height for men in China is 167.1 cm, I suppose he did surpass it by 3 cm.
It’s just that I’m surrounded by way too many tall people.
Xiao Haitang, despite being a girl, stood at a terrifying 178 cm.
Zhao Zhao? A towering 193 cm.
Even when transformed into Xiao Lei, she was still about my height.
And me? A pitiful 176 cm.
Dammit, we all grew up in the same village—why did those two turn out to be walking electricity poles?!
His suit and dress shoes seemed to be the company’s standard attire.
But unlike my dad, this guy had a slight hunch, making his suit—despite fitting well—lack that sharp, commanding presence. Instead, it gave off a bit of a sluggish, worn-out vibe.
He also wore round glasses, a style that had become pretty trendy lately, and had relatively long hair for a guy, tied back into a low ponytail.
It gave him a bit of an artistic look.
But the formal business suit clashed with his laid-back aura, creating an odd sense of incongruity.
Maybe, just like my dad, he only wore a suit because company rules required it. The moment he got home, he’d probably shed the act—switching into flip-flops and a tank top.
Of course, according to Dad, this guy was a office worker otaku .
Which meant his true form after work was probably this:
Slipping into an oversized anime T-shirt
Gulping down gamer fuel
Munching on junk food
Grinding away on his favorite games
Living his best otaku life
…Except, he wasn’t fat at all.
But let’s be real—aren’t most self-proclaimed “fat otakus” actually just skinny dudes?
At first, I planned to just stay hidden until the supercar left.
But then I thought—wait a damn minute.
This is MY house. Why the hell am I hiding?
Since Xiao Lei had already gone over the wall, there was no reason for me to stay out of sight.
“Yo, son! What a coincidence today!”
Dad, who was unlocking the door, spotted me and waved from afar.
“Got yourself a new pair of glasses? Hmm, looks pretty good.”
Hah. I scoffed internally. Good-looking my a̲s̲s̲. I picked the nerdiest, ugliest pair possible on purpose.
As I got closer, I noticed that the otaku’s glasses were also basically two thick beer-bottle lenses.
“Let me introduce you.” My dad gestured to his colleague.
“This is Wu Qinglan. He just got transferred to our department recently.”
Then he turned to Wu Qinglan and introduced me:
“Xiao Wu, this is Chang Kai, my son. He’s sixteen this year.”
“No, I’m seventeen! My gosh, Dad, how do you not remember your own kid’s age?!”
“Wait, your son?!”
Wu Qinglan widened his eyes in surprise, as if seeing some rare mythical creature.
Then he suddenly let out a suspicious chuckle.
“Ohohoho~ Young man, are you interested in anime and cosplay? How about joining my club and doing a cross-dressing cosplay? With your features, you’d definitely be the star of any convention!”
On the surface, I remained calm and composed, but deep down, a storm was raging.
This guy is no ordinary person!
He saw through my bangs + oversized glasses disguise in an instant!
“I refuse!”
Chang ‘Kishibe Rohan’ Kai’s favorite thing to do is saying… yada yada, you know the rest.
“Haha, my son wears those big glasses just to hide the fact that he looks girly. There’s no way he’d do crossplay. He’d rather die than dress up as a girl!”
Excuse me?
Dad, I also wear these glasses to accommodate your psychological issues! Why aren’t you mentioning that?!
Of course, dying is an exaggeration. I do cherish my life.
If someone offered me 1,000 yuan to do it just once… I mean, why not?
No one would recognize me anyway.
After all, kids from poor families are always a little money-hungry.
That’s right. My dignity is worth exactly 1,000 yuan.
“Oh? That’s a shame. I was actually planning to offer 2,000 yuan for a single cosplay appearance.”
Wu Qinglan sighed regretfully.
I was stunned.
Two thousand yuan.
This filthy rich otaku just casually threw out two grand!
For a broke high school boy like me, 2,000 yuan was an astronomical amount.
And all I had to do was sacrifice a tiny bit of self-respect…
But the problem was—I had already refused.
And I couldn’t just take it back now.
“…A man’s dignity cannot be bought for a mere 2,000 yuan!”
I forced the words out through gritted teeth.
“Well, that’s fine too. In that case, I’ll take my leave.”
Wu Qinglan chuckled, scratching at the sweat on his cheek.
“Not coming inside for a bit? Stay for dinner before you go?”
“No, no, I just want to go home. Uncle Chang, you know how it is. Every second spent in this damn suit is suffering.”
“Ah, I get it now! Well then, I won’t keep you.”
“Uncle Chang, make sure to keep up with your treatment! I’m still waiting for you to join me at a convention.”
…Wait. What?
Since when was there a plan for Dad to go to a convention?!
If Dad actually went to an anime convention, a place flooded with cute cosplayers… He definitely can’t handle it.
In fact, he’d become an exhibit himself.
An actual, living “Ojisan NPC” statue.
Wu Qinglan climbed back into his red supercar.
With a thunderous roar of the engine, he sped off into the distance.
Rich otakus…
Man, I can’t help but envy, resent, and admire them all at once…
—
The moment Dad got home, the first thing he did was strip off his suit and change into a comfortable tank top.
Then, he threw on an apron and walked into the kitchen.
“Son, what do you want for dinner? I’ll cook for you.”
“I already ate at Old Feng’s. You can sort out dinner without me.”
Dad looked… disappointed.
“I see… You know, now that I get off work on time, you could at least have dinner at home every now and then.”
Why does he sound like a lonely old man whose kids moved out?
“You used to leave early and come home late every day. I got used to eating out. How about this—tomorrow night, I promise to eat dinner at home.”
“Deal! I’ll let you taste your father’s culinary skills.”
With that settled, I quickly thumped up the stairs.
After all, Xiao Lei was still waiting for me in my room…
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